KUL hotel recommendations
 

I'll be in KUL for two days, any hotel recommendations that is centrally located for local sight seeing?

I don't have a lot of luggage, so I can use the train as well to/from KUL (assuming this is faster than a cab) :)

Thanks, will take a look.

A coworker suggested Villa Samadhi, any recent experiences there?

I've always stayed at the Grand Marriott or the Westin, both across from Pavilion mall and down the street from a ton of restaurants and places to see. It's also known as the Golden Triangle and the 1st suggestion is 1 block north. Great area, once you're there to walk around, easy to walk to Petronas towers, KLCC mall with the dancing lights, convention center or the aquarium.

Ask a 100 people for hotel recommendations and you'll be left with a choice of a hundred hotels....

Unless you are free of budget constraints, cost (or star-rating as a loose proxy) will be important in that choice.

The most tourism dense areas are around the Golden Triangle - Bukit Bintang area. I can't see any point in lodging on the doorstep of the Petronas Towers, but it's what a lot of people aim for. If you are intending to use the metro system (and it can be God-send alternative to the city's road traffic), access to an LRT/MRT station would be helpful.

You could use a Trivago etc to identify hotels and prices in the areas you select, then whittle down the list with cautious use of tripadvisor, and (of course!) reviews in Fyertalk hotel forum..

If you are coming in by train, there'd be something to be said for staying at the Hilton/Meridien, both loosely connected to the station. It puts you in a transport hub, but means you avoid the clunkiness of having to get you+luggage from the airport train to a final destination.

Otherwise, if there are two or more in your party, a taxi from the airport is a more convenient and cheaper option than train+taxi.

I'm a big fan of the Four Points Chinatown. Pristine property with straight-on view of Merdeka 118, walking distance to train and some of my favorite food in the world, and just 6k Marriott points a night much of the year. Easy ride on the KLIA Ekspres with 1 transfer (much faster and cheaper than cab).

For a solo passenger the train+cab will invariably be cheaper

But for two or more passengers a door-to-door taxi, KLIA to the hotel, is not only going to be cheaper than the train+taxi, but also more comfortable and convenient - especially if the passengers are burdened by luggage.

The train+cab might win in journey time during rush hours, but otherwise the trip time will be a wash between the two options. The bare-bones 28 minutes on the train doesn't include the faff transferring at Sentral and the cab ride from there to the hotel. Outside rush hour a taxi from KLiA to the hotel should take an hour or less.


The basic limo (fixed-price) from KLIA to the city was (probably still is) MYR115.
A metred cab will generally be cheaper
Grab is certainly cheaper

The KLIA Express from KLIA to Sentral is MYR55

I was comparing 100% train to 100% taxi. You're right though that the train transfer at Sentral to Pasar Seni and the subsequent walk to the 4P requires additional time and may not confer a speed advantage.

If it's that cheap, that certainly makes it more palatable. When I last took a fixed-price taxi from KLIA to the Doubletree (similar distance as 4P) around 2016, granted it was late night, IIRC it was over 200 RM.

100 RM round trip, slightly cheaper than 2 one-ways.

They have various grades of taxi, and might not always offer the standard one unless you ask for it. Then there's night rate ....

That seems to be bit of a walk to KLCC/Petronas or Bukit Bintang.

I’ve stayed at the Novotel City Centre and I found its location ideal as it straddles both areas. It’s an older but well-run hotel and KLCC/Petronas is a 10-minute walk along an elevated covered walkway from escalators close to its rear entrance.

The same walkway will get you across the street to the Pavilion mall around Bukit Bintang much faster.

Looks like a 6 min walk + 6 mins on the bus + 6 mins walk or 7 min drive.

It looks like the quickest route from Villa Samadhi involves an uphill walk from the MRT station to Pavilion Mall, so all that plus possible rains will impact your time and convenience.

Got it. Trip isn't until October, so have time to decide. If we end up here, maybe we'll just take a taxi to Petronas :)

Villa Samadhi on Pesiaran Madge? That neighbourhood is completely flat.

However the location is not convenient unless you want to take taxis everywhere. It's a long walk to the MRT and there's not much around there. Very residential until you hike 300m to Jalan Ampang. Not a hotel I'd recommend to most people.

Here is another idea.
Le Meridien at the Sentral Station (also Hilton & Aloft nearby). Though not near any major sights, but it is extremely convenient as to take public transports to almost anywhere.
From the airport, just take the airport express train to the end station which is Sentral. Get out of the terminus and take an elevator up, then walk a short distance up to the hotel. If you call the hotel ahead, they might even send a bellman to meet at the station and help with luggage.
I stay there frequently, most recently last December. Nice hotel and they treat BonVoy elites very well.

Update:

I loved Villa Samadhi and will stay there again. Service was great, fantastic ambience with just 28 rooms and not the usual mega property with a gazllion guests. It was very easy to get to KLCC via Grab, and anywhere else from there via public transit.

It was also great to be in a neighborhood with a lot of green cover and some very palatial residences and embassies ::) To each their own, but I'm not a big fan of staying in very touristy areas or at properties that look the same anywhere in the world.

Every time I have arrived recently, only the large luxury taxis are available.....so they say !

Ditto for me!